1. Field of the Invention
The invention herein relates to sports equipment and hand tools, and hand grips therefor. More particularly, it pertains to grips which are formed from a novel polymeric composition.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many types of sports equipment are designed and intended to be hand-held. These include such implements as tennis rackets, fishing poles, hockey sticks and golf clubs. During the course of play or other usage of such implements, the user's hand almost invariably become sweaty, dirty or oily, any of which can affect the user's ability to grip the implement properly. The result of slippage or other poor grasping of the implement results in poor play or usage of the implement by the user. A tennis player's poor return of an opponent's serve, a golfer's poorly directed wood or iron shot, a fisherman's poor cast, and the like, all illustrate the adverse effect of a user's change in ability to properly grip the implement as play or usage continues.
Similarly, many times sports implements must be used under adverse weather conditions, which can also affect the user's ability to properly grip the implement. Heat causes one's hands to perspire; rain and snow cause the gripping surface of the implement and the user's hands to become wet, prolonged exposure of the implement to strong sunlight, rain or cold can cause the grip material to deteriorate, and so forth.
The same is true for many hand-held tools, both those manually operated (e.g., hammers, pliers, axes, saws, hand drills and shovels) and those electrically driven (e.g., power drills, circular and saber saws and power screw drivers). The inability of the user to grip such tools properly not only can cause work to be poorly done, but may also be dangerous to the user or others in the vicinity if the tool slips during use.
Further, in the case of many types of sports implements (e.g., tennis rackets and golf clubs) and of tools (e.g., hammers, shovels) the user's grip on the tool or implement must remain firm during impact of the tool or implement with a ball or puck or with nails or rocks, respectively, or during pulling on the implement or tool against the user's grip, as when a fish bites on a fishing line or a worker is trying to pull nails with a claw hammer.
Numerous grip materials have been used with varying degrees of success in the past. Most, however, have proved to be limited, especially under adverse weather or usage conditions or over extended periods of time.
Therefore, it would be of significant value if a grip material were available which could be used on a wide variety of hand-held sports implements and tools, which would retain its beneficial gripping properties over time, in poor weather and when gripped by a user whose hands are dirty, sweaty, wet, etc., and which could be easily rapidly secured in place on the sports implement or tool handle.